Outer Eye Disorders
The outer eye includes several organs, including the cornea, the iris and the lens. The iris is a membrane in the eye, responsible for controlling the amount of light reaching the retina. The cornea and lens refract light onto the retina. Healthy eyes produce clear vision as the result of the transparency of the cornea and lens. Cataract, a clouding of the lens of the eye, can obstruct the passage of light and result in a gradual loss of vision. Unfortunately, very few treatments exist for cataract, other than to replace the cataractous lens with an artificial lens through a complicated surgical procedure.
Disorders such as keratitis, neovascularization, and epithelium deficiency can also reduce vision by interfering with the transparency of the cornea. These disorders can result from numerous causes, including viral and bacterial infections, trauma and surgery. Antibiotics and anti-viral agents are often used to treat infectious causes, but in many instances the patient has no choice but to undergo a complicated surgical procedure to remove damaged tissue before it can scar and reduce eyesight.
PCT Publications WO 2004/012748 and WO 2001/054704 teach an isotonic ionized acidic solution for wound care, and tout the water based upon its antioxidant characteristics and antimicrobial properties. The publications state that the solution may be used in the place of saline in ophthalmic applications such as contact lens cleaning solutions or for irrigation of the eye during ophthalmic surgery, and that the properties of the solution depend on the particular concentration ranges of a mixture of salts.
There remains a need for pharmacological methods of treating outer eye disorders, especially those that affect the cornea and lens. There is particularly a need to methods that prevent further deterioration of vision in the eye, and that potentially improve the vision of the patient whose vision has worsened.
High ORP Acid Water
It is known that aqueous solutions of salts, particularly sodium chloride, as a consequence of an electrolytic treatment, are split into two liquid products, one having basic and reducing characteristics (generally known as cathode water or alkaline water) and another (generally known as anode water or acid water) having acid and oxidizing characteristics.
Conventional electrolytic waters suffer the acknowledged drawback of having very limited preservation. A few days after preparation, the product in fact generally tends to degrade and lose its properties. Known electrolytic waters, therefore, must be prepared and used substantially on the spot. Accordingly, the commercial utilization of the product in itself is extremely disadvantageous, since the shelf life of any ready-made packages is dramatically limited.
The stability of an electrolyzed oxidizing water is reported in the article “Effects of Storage Conditions and pH on Chlorine Loss in Electrolyzed Oxidizing (EO) Water”—Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry—2002, 50, 209-212 by Soo-Voon Len, et al. In Soo-Voo Len, electrolyzed water with an acidic pH (2.5-2.6), high OPR (1020-1120 mV), and a free chlorine content of ˜50 ppm (53-56 ppm) was generated using a current intensity of 14 Ampere and 7.4 Volt. Unfortunately, in an open condition at 25° C., the chlorine in the electrolyzed water was completely lost after 30 hours when agitated, and after 100 hours when not agitated. Furthermore, in a closed dark condition at 25° C., the free chlorine in the electrolyzed water decreased by approximately 40% after 1400 hours (about 2 months).
The stability of electrolyzed oxidizing water also is reported in the article “Effects of storage conditions on chemical and physical properties of electrolyzed oxidizing water”—Journal of Food Engineering 65 (2004) 465-471 by Shun-Yao Hsu, et al. In Shun-Yao Hsu, the electrolyzed water of “formulation J” had an acidic pH (2.61), high OPR (1147 mV), and a free chlorine content of 56 ppm. The article reports that in a closed condition at 25-30° C., the free chlorine in the electrolyzed water was 43 ppm after 21 days, a 23% loss.
Thus, there remains a need for acidic electrolytic water with a greater chemical stability than traditional waters. There is a particular need for water with a greater stability during long term storage, so as to allow for the commercial utilization of acidic electrolytic water products.